Sophie
by Salomedancing
Summary: Two women meet in a library, but one of them isn't quite who she seems. And Dracula does not take kindly to perceived competition. A sequel to "Clara". The Historian fandom but can be read by anyone who enjoys vampire stories.
1. In the library

_AN: This is a sequel to a story I wrote called Clara. I do think it can be read anyway, but perhaps you will enjoy it more if you read Clara first. This is a vampire story and though it fits into the fandom of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, the myth of Dracula is so universal that you don't have to read that book to enjoy this story. The characteristics of Kostova's Dracula are making the myth Dracula the same as the real Dracula, a singularly unpleasant Wallachian prince named Vlad Tepes in the late 15th century. That is an idea that has been touted before Kostova wrote her excellent book. More unique is making her Dracula a lover of history and scholarly research. And these things are what I have borrowed for my fanfic._

_Special thanks to my dear friend M who reads, comments and cheers me on_

To fall for someone you had only watched from across a large room was incredibly stupid, but that was just what Sophie did. She had started to use the university's library in the evenings as that made it far more unlikely that she would meet a tutor or a fellow student, who could ask unwelcome questions, like how her thesis was coming along, which it wasn't, not one bit. She still dutifully went to the library, trying to read and focus her thoughts, but mostly playing stupid games on her laptop. And then, when she spotted the loveliest creature she had ever seen on a table opposite hers, her heart stopped and after that she worked even less, though her appearance at the library in the evenings became spotless.

She was perhaps a little older than Sophie, a dark woman who worked studiously at her table with her books. She didn't look quite real to Sophie, more like an old-time movie star playing the role of a student, with her hair perfectly swept up in a chignon at the back of her head and, of all things to wear in a library, a grey suit that must have come from a better kind of second-hand store. There were other retro girls at the university, but this woman looked far more put together than anyone else Sophie has ever seen and then she was so beautiful. Her face a serene oval with pale and perfect skin, high cheekbones and features that harmonized with each other to make something outstanding and Sophie was smitten and lost before she had even said a word to her.

Sophie wasn't shy and after watching the woman for a few evenings she went up to her and said "Hi, I'm Sophie!"

The woman looked up and frowned a little over the intrusion, then she gave Sophie a small close-lipped smile, formally stretched out her hand and said, "Hello. My name is Clara."

Her voice was rather deep and her accent clearly not local and her grip was strong and quick and felt somewhat odd because in the hot library Clara's hand were much cooler than Sophie's. She suddenly felt a bit self-concious over intruding on Clara like that, but now that she was here, Sophie felt she had nothing to loose, and went on.

"I was wondering, I mean, I have seen you work here night after night, and you never go on breaks. You know, you really ought to. Makes you think better after and so on. And I was just having a cup of coffee; I thought perhaps you would like one too?"

Clara shook her head. "I don't drink coffee."

"Tea then? Or just some water? Hot chocolate?" Sophie could hear herself babbling and inwardly she thought she sounded so stupid. Clara didn't know her and clearly didn't want to take a break with her and she ought to stop pushing her, but to her surprise Clara nodded.

"Well, perhaps, a short one. It has been some time since I did something like that."

Clara didn't seem entirely at ease in the coffee shop outside the library. The plastic chairs and the strong light made her seem very out of place, much more than in the library. She wrapped her hands around her teacup and inhaled, remaking that she had always enjoyed the scent of tea. She didn't say much else, leaving it to Sophie to keep up the conversation. And Sophie, nervous and happy over actually sitting at the same table as the Clara, did talk. It didn't take her long to tell Clara her misgivings about her studies and how unsure she was if that was really what she wanted to do. Clara listened and then came with a few intelligent questions that quite made Sophie look at her subject a bit differently and then Clara put down her barely touched tea and said she had to return to her work.

It quickly became a habit of Sophie asking Clara to go on a short break and though they never lasted as long as Sophie would have wanted, Clara always came. For Sophie those moments became the most important time of the day, those few minutes in Clara's company something she thought about as soon as she woke up every morning. Once she suggested that they should do something else, have dinner or take a walk, but Clara made clear that she was much too busy to have time for any other kind of socializing. Clara didn't speak much about herself, but Sophie eventually learned that she wasn't a student at the university and that she was just staying in the city temporarily. She was a researcher, which meant travelling a lot and spending short, busy time periods in various important libraries, looking up subject that her employers wished for her to look into. It all sounded quite exotic to Sophie, especially when she learned that this also included travels abroad.

Though Sophie never dared to ask outright, she did manage to figure out that Clara was involved with someone, but when it came to her private life she was so evasive that it made Sophie uneasy, though she couldn't quite say why. She just had a growing feeling that Clara was unhappy, even if she clearly loved her work and the few times she came to be close to talkative it was always on the subject of her research. Clara was a good listener though, and Sophie soon found that she had poured out the whole story of her life, all her dreams and hopes. She often wondered how Clara could enjoy these near monologues, but comforted herself that Clara would stop going to the coffee shop, her if she got bored with her, and Clara always came.

Even if Sophie had known that Clara's time at the university was limited, she still felt completely devastated when Clara told her that her research was coming to an end and that she would leave very soon.

"I am sorry to see the end of our breaks together", Clara told her. "It has been a very long time since I made friends with anyone and I have enjoyed this more than I can tell."

Even so, she seemed a bit nervous, which jarred with her usual calm self and she cut the break quicker than she usually did and returned to her books. Sophie finished her coffee slowly, thinking of everything she wanted to say to Clara that she would probably never have the opportunity to say now. Somehow she felt that Clara leaving was something definite, there would be no Facebook and no e-mails to keep in touch, even though she also felt that Clara had meant what she had said, that, for some inexplicable reason, talking with Sophie had been important for her.

When Sophie returned to her own books she saw to her surprise that Clara was not alone. She had always worked in solitude and as far as Sophie knew she had never interacted with anyone at the library, except for the librarians and herself. Now a man in a dark suit was leaning over Clara's shoulders, and not only that, one of his hands were resting on her neck in a gesture of ownership that made Sophie's throat constrict in a sudden feeling of despair.

Was this Clara's employer then? Or the man she was involved in, which, Sophie realized, could be the same man. Of course it was, that was how it must be. She crept back to her seat and tried to concentrate on her books, but she kept sneaking glances at Clara and the man. He looked; well, strange, to Sophie, strange in the same way Clara did, dressed a bit at odds with how everyone else dressed. He looked very formal in the dark suit and an impeccable tie, but his black hair was long and curly and drawn back into a ponytail, which looked strange both with the clothes and his age, he looked to be in his 40's, and most men in that age and that kind of clothes did not wear their hair long. Though he was looking down on Clara, Sophie could see that he had strong and rather handsome features, clean-shaven except from a large black mustache, which made him, look even stranger.

As Sophie watched him, he raised his head and looked directly at her and her uneasiness grew abruptly. He looked at her steadily for a few seconds before he looked down on Clara again and said something to her. Clara looked up, looking at Sophie for a moment and then looked away as if she didn't know her and said something to the man that made him look up again sharply, before leaning even closer over Clara. Sophie's uneasiness grew even so and she rose and collected her things without even thinking of why until she was out of the library, almost running toward her bus stop. For no reason whatsoever she felt almost afraid, and on her way home she kept checking over her shoulder, unable to shake the feeling that she was being followed.


	2. In the car

Sophie slept very badly that night. She dreamt that someone stood at her bed and stared at her, but when she woke up her room was empty, though the uneasy dreams returned to her again and again. Eventually, at dawn, the bad dreams ceased and she slept long into the day. She arrived later than usual at the library, and Clara was already there, deeply absorbed in her books. Sophie waited impatiently for break time, wondering if she would dare to bring up the subject of the mysterious man, but when she turned up at Clara's table, she was, for the first time, met with rejection.

"I am sorry", Clara said, "but I have far too much to do." She paused, and then went on. "In fact, I am almost done and will be leaving as soon as I am finished, so I guess this is the best time as any to say farewell."

And to Sophie's surprise, Clara stretched out a hand and gave Sophie a cool handshake before she returned to her reading as if Sophie wasn't still standing there, completely bewildered. She went to buy her own coffee, tears burning behind her eyes. She felt rejected and humiliated, this was certainly not how she had imagined saying goodbye to Clara. What she most wanted to do was to go home and have a good cry, but she felt that she could not show how awful she felt. She tried a few sips of her coffee, but felt no taste and gave up on it, returning to her own books. To her great consternation she found a white envelope at her table. It was addressed to her, the handwriting unfamiliar and old fashioned. Her first thought was that it must be a note from Sophie, something that explained her sudden coolness, but inside there were just a few yellowing articles, clearly cut from old newspapers. They were dated, by the same person who had addressed the envelope and the date on the first one stretched back in time almost 60 years.

Puzzled Sophie began reading. The first news clippings was short, just a few sentences on the disappearance of a young woman from her apartment and that it was suspected that she had been abducted. The next article was a little longer, the woman was given a profession, she had been a librarian and she was given a name, Clara. Sophie blinked and looked up at the real life Clara, before she continued to read. Was this some kind of strange joke? The story the old clippings revealed was that the young woman was never found and though her fiancée had been questioned, he had provided an alibi. A notice, dated several years after the first ones stated that she had been declared death, though there was no body. The last article was newer and longer, part of an unsolved mysteries series and it chocked Sophie completely. Not because of the text, it basically repeated what the previous articles had said, though with some added speculations, but because this article had pictures. Pictures that not only looked somewhat like the real Clara, but were practically identical. The first one was a studio picture, the woman was posing in a very 50's evening gown, looking up and away from the camera and the other one was an amateur photo and here she was laughing, her hair flying around her hair and a young man were standing beside her, looking at her and grinning.

This was all so peculiar. The Clara in the article and the Clara at the library sharing their name and looking far too much like each other. They must be related somehow, but why had she given Sophie the envelope? There were no notes, nothing to indicate the reason and, as Sophie sat there in bewilderment, the real Clara put away her books and left the library without even looking in Sophie's direction.

She sat there staring for a few moments, then, feeling that she needed an explanation, got up and ran from the library. She didn't reach Clara until they were outside, Clara standing under a street lamp as if she was waiting for someone. She turned toward Sophie when she heard her footsteps and Sophie showed the envelope into her hand.

"Why did you give me this?"

Clara removed a clipping and read it, a frown growing deeper on her forehead as she removed another one, then she looked up at Sophie, her eyes huge and dark.

"Sophie, I never gave you this."

At that moment several things happened at once. A large black car stopped where they were standing just as Sophia realized that Clara's gazed had shifted from her to someone who was standing behind her. She turned her head to see that it was the man in the library when he spoke;

"Clara, get inside", and Clara opened the car door and slipped inside just as the man gripped Sophie's elbow, "You too." And then Sophie was inside the car with Clara and the man, the door shut and the car speeded away, the university already far behind when Sophie realized that all her things was left behind at the library and that no one knew where she had gone.

The car was huge; the kind of luxurious car that Sophie had never ever been inside. The driver were hidden by a dark glass screen and the sound of the motor was muted and the backseat huge, though she was uncomfortably aware of the man who had slipped into it with her. Clara was staring straight ahead, like a mute doll oblivious of the pleading glance Sophie gave her.

"Sophie", the man's voice was soft and low and reluctantly she turned her head and looked at him. Up close she could see that his eyes were large and green, beautiful really, if she had been in a mood to appreciate beauty. He was as formally dressed as the day before, but now his hair was unbound, framing his face in long black curls.

As a child Sophie had almost thread on an adder when she had run barefoot in the grass. She had frozen in fear, though she had wanted to run away; her breath constricted as she had watched the adder slither away and disappear and she hadn't been able to move until if had been well out of sight. Her grandmother had told her that the snake had been as scared as she, but Sophia had never forgotten the numbing fear that seemed to spring from a primal part of her mind, a primitive reaction to save her from danger. She felt the same fear now as she stared into cold green eyes, too scared to look away as her body screamed at her to flee. And this man, she knew, were not a frightened adder in the grass, he was something else and much more dangerous.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked in the same soft voice.

"Clara's employer?"

"In a sense, yes, but I am more, so much more. You see, I sent Clara here to do something simple, something that wouldn't have taken much time to complete. But instead of returning to me, she drags on, telling me that she is not quite done yet, not quite ready to go."

As he spoke he seemed to move closer and Sophie tried to slip back from him, becoming all too aware that the movement made her skirt ride up, but not daring to tug it down, lest he would notice.

"I start to wonder why my Clara, always so reliable, who has never lied to me, suddenly tries to keep things away from me, so I travel here, to find out the reason to why she is stalling. And I find that she is spending time, actually wanting to spend time, with a mediocre student who has nothing to commend to her than a vapid prettiness due to her youth and nothing, nothing that my brilliant Clara can have any use for."

The words stung, though Sophie knew he was right, she was, even at her best, average, but it was also something very strange to say. She and Clara had done nothing more than talked with each other for a few minutes at the time and here this man, the man Clara clearly had a relationship with, behaving like this was a crime. Had, in fact, Sophie suddenly realized, abducted her and the atmosphere in the car was thick of her own fear and more than a tinge of sexual tension. He was sitting just too close and she desperately turned to Clara, who had said nothing so far. Now she met Sophie's eyes and finally spoke;

"My lord, it isn't necessary to scare her so."

"It isn't? You have deceived me and now you think you can tell me what to do? "His hand suddenly closed around Sophie's throat, turning her head back toward him. "I thought I was just going to kill you now and be done with it, but perhaps Clara needs a lesson that is just a little longer. Would you enjoy being our guest for a little while? I saw how you have stared at my Clara with your puppy eyes- would you look at her the same if you know what she really is? What will you think if I tell you that those clippings you read so avidly is about Clara and no one else?"

"It can't be. It would be impossible."

"You have a very limited understanding of possibility, my dear."

Sophie's heart was beating faster, he was just not strange, and this man was dangerous, because somehow she didn't doubt what he was saying, not at all. He leaned closer, so close that Sophie thought that he was going to kiss her, but he just continued talking, close to her ear.

"Clara, tell your friend who I am."

And Clara's voice, sounding like it came from very far away. "Dracula, he is Dracula."

It was all so frightening and absurd and Clara's words just made it even more so. Sophie started to feel almost dizzy, her heart was racing and her mouth dry from fear, but at the same time an urge to laugh was welling up inside her, because all this couldn't' really be happening. She didn't resist when the man, Dracula, turned her face back toward Clara.

"Show her, Clara; show Sophie what you really are."

The laugh tried to become a scream when Clara's face changed, a subtle change that still transformed the serene beauty into something that was just a monster, but the scream died as well when Dracula leaned even closer and she could feel sharp teeth cutting deep into the skin of her neck.


	3. In Dracula's house

Sophie woke up slowly from a dream were Clara and she lay wrapped in each other's arms and as she drifted out of sleep, Clara's perfume remained around her, originating, Sophie eventually realized, from the fur coat she was covered in. The coat was soft and luxurious, but that was the only thing in her surroundings that was. Fully awake now she sat up on a mattress placed directly on the concrete floor in a small windowless room. A light bulb in the ceiling was spreading a bleak light over Sophie and the only other thing there was a covered tray and two doors.

Sophie stood up, her body aching, most of all her neck. Her shoes were missing and so was her mobile phone, every thing else was, of course, still in the library. Had anyone missed her yet? She rather shakily tried the doors. One was locked; the other led to a tiny bathroom only containing a toilet and a basin, not even a mirror. Sophie gingerly touched her neck, flinching when her fingertips found two small wounds. She remembered what had happened in the car very well, but it seemed impossible that it was what had really happened. Dracula was an imaginary monster; the man in the car must be a madman. A rich and crazy man, she was in so much trouble, but she didn't have to be a victim for something supernatural to be that. She wondered what Clara's role in all this was. She hadn't want Sophie to follow her, in fact she had tried to avoid her as soon as the man had appeared and she had not seemed to like what the man had said in the car. But she had done what he said; he clearly had a strong hold over her.

And she hadn't looked human. That was the bit Sophie couldn't explain. Her wounds could be cuts, not bites but Clara's face had changed and, yes, she had to admit that, it had been teeth that bit her. Sophie started to shake and curled up on the mattress to investigate the tray in an effort to not think about her scary situation. There were some cold food and hot sweet tea in a thermos and she ate and drank greedily. The food was delicious and she wondered if it was Clara's doings, making sure she was warm and had good food. She burrowed her face and inhaled the scent and felt sure that it must be. Whatever Clara was, Sophie's mind shied away from the word vampire, she hadn't wanted to hurt Sophie.

When she had eaten and any distractions were gone Sophie suddenly felt overwhelmed and started to cry. She cried for a long time, until she was totally exhausted and she blessedly fell asleep. She didn't wake up until the door opened and Clara stepped inside. She looked very different, her long dark hair was falling free down her back in loose curls and she was wearing a long robe, richly embroidered and looking rather foreign, Eastern Europe perhaps. Before Sophie could say something and much faster than a human being ought to be able to move, she was kneeling beside Sophie and covering her mouth with her hand.

"Not a sound, Sophie", Clara whispered in her ears, so low that Sophie had to strain herself to be able to make out the words. "You must be as quiet as you can, because everyone in this house can hear things that you can't."

She hesitated a moment, and then she leaned even closer. "I am going to take you to the door and you are going to run as fast as you can. Get away from this place as quickly as you can, but don't go back to the university. Don't ever get back from the university. Do you understand me?"

Sophie nodded and Clara removed her hand, standing up and helping Sophie to stand as well. She pressed a roll of money into Sophie's hand, and then she took the other and led her out of the room. She had been in a cellar, Sophie understood, as they had to climb up a staircase. Clara led her through a maze of winding corridors, walking swiftly, but silently. It all went too quickly for Sophie to take in, but she got glimpses of beautiful furniture and art, and soft carpets under her bare feet. The house must be huge, but not a sound could be heard, as if she and Clara were the only beings in it. Sophie bit her lip to prevent all the questions she had from pouring out, not daring to make any sound. They reached a large hall and Clara unlocked and bolted the heavy door. It opened silently and outside Sophie got a glimpse of a street with huge and ancient houses and large trees.

Sophie took her arm to usher her out, but Sophie never reached the freedom she got a peek of. She was suddenly dragged back, lifted and flung through the air, crashing against a side table as she fell, the door banging shut when she was still in the air. She crawled up, one of her wrists hurt and she cradled it in her other hand as she looked around. Dracula was standing in the middle of the room, shaking Clara as if she was a rag doll. Her hair was flying like a halo around her face and then she was thrown as well, falling into a heap not far from Sophie.

For a moment or two nothing happened. Dracula was standing very still though his eyes were burning in rage and Sophie suddenly realized that he didn't breathe. He ought to be breathing hard, any human would do that after far less physical activity, but he didn't. Despite the violent outburst he looked calm and Clara, slowly standing up again, looked calm as well. As calm as she always looked because she didn't need to breathe. That was the moment when Sophie finally understood that everything was real, however strange and fantastical it all seemed. Dracula was real and a vampire and Clara was one as well and for Sophie herself things would not be set all right. She ought to be hysterical now, she thought, start to scream and cry, but she felt oddly calm instead.

"Come", Dracula ordered and left the room, clearly not expecting any disobedience.

Clara helped Sophie to her feet and for a brief moment she hugged her, whispering "I am so sorry.", before she followed Dracula with Sophie in tow.

They went through more silent corridors and into a large, room. The floor was covered with rugs that looked old and well worn, but they were beautiful. The walls were covered with bookshelves and cabinets and there were tables with more books piled high. The windows were hidden beneath thick curtains and the only light came from an abundance of burning candles. Dracula was waiting for them and Clara went up to him, kneeled and kissed his hand. He placed a hand on her head and when she looked up at him he motioned to her to stand up again.

"Clara, why do you betray me so? Have I not given you your heart's desire? Have I not kept all my promises to you and never hurt you?"

Clara bowed her head. "Yes, my lord."

"So why, then? You go against my desires and for what? A girl who is a nothing? What makes her so special that you defy me?"

Several minutes passed before Clara answered. "Because spending time with Sophie made me feel like I was alive. It made me feel like who I used to be- for a little time."

"Despite knowing what I would do if I found out? Was it worth it?"

Clara glanced at Sophie. "Yes, it was worth it."

"I see." He stared intently into Clara's eyes and then he turned away and opened one of the cabinets. "Come here, Sophie."

Sophie reluctantly followed, but she found that it was very hard to not do as he asked. The cabinet was filled with an array of objects, most which looked very ancient. Dracula nodded toward a small black box. "Open it."

The object inside was just a small cross in silver on a chain, but Dracula looked at it with revulsion. "Do me a favour, my dear, and put it around Clara's neck."

He looked at Clara who looked very unsettled. "I thought this would make for a fitting punishment for you, after all it belongs to you."

Clara's look deepened into fear, but she made no move to stop Sophie, indeed she even lifted her mass of hair out of the way to make it easier to fasten the chain around her neck. Sophie did it clumsily enough anyway, her wrist hurt which made it difficult and she also had a nagging suspicion that this was not boding well for Clara. Half forgotten vampire lore from movies and novels floated around her brain and crosses were never good for a vampire. Her suspicion proved right as soon as the cross touched Clara's skin. It reddened as if the silver was hot and the burn mark immediately started to spread, deepening in colour as is she was being scorched by a living flame. Clara moaned and lifted her hands toward the cross, but she made no attempt to remove it.

Sophie stared at the growing mark in horror. "It hurts her!"

"Yes, very much. If it isn't removed it will burn her to a living cinder, but it is so small that it will take days before she succumbs to it."

His voice was thick with pleasure when he said it and something in Sophie hurt. "Don't kill her!"

Dracula looked at her with a faint smile. "Of course not. I treasure her far too much and she will recover soon enough when she has fed again. But she will suffer until I'm satisfied. He stretched out a hand and stroke away a lock of Sophie's hair from her face.

"You care for her, Sophie? Though you know now what she is now. Yes, I can see you do, and she cares for you. How amusing." He fell quiet, still looking at Sophie as if he was looking for something. "Perhaps I should give you the chance to stop Clara's torment? You want to stop it?"

"Yes. Yes, please." Sophie looked at Clara, the burns continued to spread and Clara's eyes had grown wide and blood-filled in pain. Sophie turned back to Dracula. "What shall I do."

He smiled wider, the most terrible smile she had ever seen. Then he touched her face again, letting his hands slide over her neck and down, sliding the fur coats away from her shoulder. It fell to the floor and Sophie shuddered, the room was cold and if she had felt scared before, it now grew into a mind-numbing terror.

"It is very easy, Sophie. I just want you to invite me. Beg me to take your blood; I want you to plead for it." When Sophie couldn't stop herself from shaking her head in protest he continued. "You change nothing for yourself, I would do it anyway, but you can save Clara with just a few words."

Sophie swallowed, her mouth feeling very dry. It ought to be easy to say it when it really didn't changed anything for her, but would help Clara, but the words didn't want to come. She swallowed again, but not until Clara stumbled and fell down on her hands and knees, did she find the words.

"Please, do it. Please do whatever you want with me. I beg of you to do what you please with me."

Dracula's face changed before she had finished speaking and steeped closer, wrapping her into his arms in a parody of a lover's embrace. Sophie closed her eyes, but she couldn't stop the sensation of once again feeling Dracula's mouth to her throat and then his bite.


End file.
